1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Split Second. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
This takes place on at New York City, Manhattan on the evening of Fourth of July. The people involved in the beginning of the play were Willis and Val. The dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves is Val running after Willis. This is because Willis was caught trying to steal a car and was trying to avoid capture.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? Be careful when citing the intrusion, it may not be where you initially think it is.
I believe the intrusion was the moment Val lied to Parker. This is because Val had a choice whether he wanted to tell the truth or lie about what happened. This set the course for Val asking for advice from many close friends and family about what he should do. In a split second he decided to lie about what happen, especially at the end where he is struggling about whether he'll lie or tell the truth.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor was that the setting occurs on the Fourth of July and it was also around the point where Val was sick and tired of the harassment he facing because of his skin color
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play was "Will Val tell the truth during court?", "Will he get caught?", and "Will he tell anyone the truth?"
5. Use Val to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what Val wants (NOTE: In Split Second the wants of Val are in flux and he is being swayed by his father, his wife, his friend, and his colleague at work. His wants seem to change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that the character encounters.
In the beginning of the play, I think the only thing Val wanted was to catch the perpetrator. This is because if he really didn't want to then he wouldn't have chased Willis like he did. After catching Willis, Val became so irritated with what Willis was saying that he wanted to kill to Willis stop him from harassing him. To me, the obstacle that Val was going through was him against society.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Split Second.
The most theatrical moment was scene where Val shoot Willis.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Split Second. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
The first example of images would be the beginning scene in act 1 where Val is having a confrontation with Willis. This is because the way they described the whole scene with stage directions helps the reader see how this particular scene is suppose to play out. The second example of images would be the court scene. With the use Val stuttering, it shows how nervous and unsure Val is about his decision. Also, with Val not raising his head until the end shows that until then he was still trying to decide if he wants to tell the truth or not. The third example of images would be when Val was telling Rusty the truth about what happened on the night of the Fourth of July. This is because Val gives details about what happened, how it happened, and why it happened. At one point you could sense the anger from Val as he yells at Rusty about hearing the wrong word one too many times. The title helps us understand the images in the play because most of Val's decisions happened in a "Split Second". For example, when Val decided to shoot Willis in the chest, it was done in a split second. He made a split decision about shooting Willis, whether he did it consciously or not.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Split Second.
Personal morality was the main theme that I noticed in this play. This was due to the fact that Val was constantly struggling against what was right morally and what was right for his family. For what was right morally, Val had to decide whether he wanted to live the rest of his life in jail for voluntarymanslaughter and obstruction of justice in order to face his punishments. For what was right for his family, Val had to decide whether living with the choices he made for the sake of his family is worth the guilt he will feel later.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Split Second?
Family in Split Second was a big influence on Val's life. To Val, Rusty was someone who Val looked up to. He was also a major influence for Val to be a police officer. Val was around his dad when he brought his police friends and their families. Val was always surrounded by police officers because of Rusty causing Val to be surrounded by the morals of the society.
This takes place on at New York City, Manhattan on the evening of Fourth of July. The people involved in the beginning of the play were Willis and Val. The dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves is Val running after Willis. This is because Willis was caught trying to steal a car and was trying to avoid capture.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? Be careful when citing the intrusion, it may not be where you initially think it is.
I believe the intrusion was the moment Val lied to Parker. This is because Val had a choice whether he wanted to tell the truth or lie about what happened. This set the course for Val asking for advice from many close friends and family about what he should do. In a split second he decided to lie about what happen, especially at the end where he is struggling about whether he'll lie or tell the truth.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor was that the setting occurs on the Fourth of July and it was also around the point where Val was sick and tired of the harassment he facing because of his skin color
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play was "Will Val tell the truth during court?", "Will he get caught?", and "Will he tell anyone the truth?"
5. Use Val to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what Val wants (NOTE: In Split Second the wants of Val are in flux and he is being swayed by his father, his wife, his friend, and his colleague at work. His wants seem to change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that the character encounters.
In the beginning of the play, I think the only thing Val wanted was to catch the perpetrator. This is because if he really didn't want to then he wouldn't have chased Willis like he did. After catching Willis, Val became so irritated with what Willis was saying that he wanted to kill to Willis stop him from harassing him. To me, the obstacle that Val was going through was him against society.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Split Second.
The most theatrical moment was scene where Val shoot Willis.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Split Second. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
The first example of images would be the beginning scene in act 1 where Val is having a confrontation with Willis. This is because the way they described the whole scene with stage directions helps the reader see how this particular scene is suppose to play out.
The second example of images would be the court scene. With the use Val stuttering, it shows how nervous and unsure Val is about his decision. Also, with Val not raising his head until the end shows that until then he was still trying to decide if he wants to tell the truth or not.
The third example of images would be when Val was telling Rusty the truth about what happened on the night of the Fourth of July. This is because Val gives details about what happened, how it happened, and why it happened. At one point you could sense the anger from Val as he yells at Rusty about hearing the wrong word one too many times.
The title helps us understand the images in the play because most of Val's decisions happened in a "Split Second". For example, when Val decided to shoot Willis in the chest, it was done in a split second. He made a split decision about shooting Willis, whether he did it consciously or not.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Split Second.
Personal morality was the main theme that I noticed in this play. This was due to the fact that Val was constantly struggling against what was right morally and what was right for his family. For what was right morally, Val had to decide whether he wanted to live the rest of his life in jail for voluntary manslaughter and obstruction of justice in order to face his punishments. For what was right for his family, Val had to decide whether living with the choices he made for the sake of his family is worth the guilt he will feel later.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Split Second?
Family in Split Second was a big influence on Val's life. To Val, Rusty was someone who Val looked up to. He was also a major influence for Val to be a police officer. Val was around his dad when he brought his police friends and their families. Val was always surrounded by police officers because of Rusty causing Val to be surrounded by the morals of the society.